Actinidia polygama (silver vine)

Japanese name: マタタビ （木天蓼）
Scientific name: Actinidia polygama

[Overview]
A deciduous woody vine found at forest edges in the mountains, climbing by twining around other plants.
It branches freely; the new branches are at first covered with pale brown soft hairs, but later become hairless.
Leaves are simple and alternate, 6–15 cm long and 3.5–8 cm wide, broadly ovate to elliptic.
The leaf margins have low serrations.
Sparse stiff hairs grow on the veins on both surfaces of the leaves, and pale brown hairs grow in the vein axils on the underside.
On flowering branches, the upper half or the whole of the leaf turns white during the flowering season.
The petiole is 2–7 cm long and often tinged with red.
The flowers are usually borne singly in the leaf axils of the new branches.
The flowers are white, 2–2.5 cm across, with 5 petals.
The fruit is a berry, 2–2.5 cm long, oblong and narrowing at the tip, ripening orange-yellow.
The seeds are arranged in a ring radiating from the center of the fruit.

[Uses]
The galls are called mokutenryo and are used medicinally.
The fruit is made into fruit liqueur, pickles and the like.
It is also known as a plant that induces ecstasy in members of the cat family.

[Cultivation]
Propagate by cuttings.
It prefers sun to partial shade and well-ventilated, well-drained, moderately moist soil.
For potted plants, water thoroughly when the soil surface dries; for plants in the ground, rainfall is sufficient.
If fertilizer is applied at planting, no further fertilizing is particularly necessary, but potted plants may be given organic fertilizer in winter.
Pests and diseases include Ameiro-habamodoki.

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